Campgrounds Near Walt Disney World

Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake is a nice park but small (36 sites). Just stayed there recently and it looked like some of the sites are permanent for the season. It is actually great for Universal Studios but might be a little far for Disney World.

Stayed at Turkey Lake Park, City of Orlando. Very affordable and nice.

Turkey Lake Park run by the city of Orlando. Very nice park and reasonably priced.

I can tell you one to avoid - Sherwood Forest. Granted, it's been some time ago now, but we were not treated well. The CG itself was OK but was populated (at the time) by snowbirds. We were given what was essentially a half-sized site; we could not even put the awning out. Plus, when we arrived to set up the RV in the next site had his car parked in our site. I asked the management to be moved to a larger/less crowded site and was told there were none available. Odd thing, though, was there was a site directly behind us that was vacant all week.

No, I don't hold grudges. I just put 'em away until I need them. We'll never stay there again.

I don't have anything to add regarding alternate campgrounds, but I've been in the same boat as you before (trying to get in at Ft. Wilderness). My advice is keep checking their website...ALL THE TIME. Someone will cancel, actually, many people will cancel between now and then. Lots of folks have made reservations long in advance for Ft. Wilderness, just in case they might want to come. As it gets closer, they start dropping. I've had times when I left the browser open on my computer and kept hitting "refresh". You have to be fast and catch it! When spots open up, they don't last long. Go ahead and make a reservation somewhere else, and then keep Ft. Wilderness as an option.

Hint - If you haven't already done so, go ahead and register at their website and make an account now. If you wait until you reserve a spot, then that opening might disappear before you get through the registration process.

Ft. Wilderness during that time of the year is very pricey, but well worth it IMO. You might save $30/$40 night somewhere else, but then you have to factor in parking and the convenience factor. If you're dragging a RV from Louisville, then you're probably not concerned about such a small amount of money that might be saved by going elsewhere.

We are at KOA Kissimmee right now.
Disney is about 30 minutes away or less.
Dailey car parking is $17.
Plenty of restaurants around the area.
Grocery stores and Walmart as well.
Other tourist activities and Camping World.
I also, purchased a "Sun Pass" toll pass in advance, to use.
Pat

Search this Forum for Walt Disney World in the RV Parks section.

If you're Thousand Trails members, the one in Clermont is nice. As the crow flies, it's pretty close- but driving, it can take a while to get to the gate.

Parking costs $20/day at the parks. You can cheat that, but it takes time (parking at a resort and lying to the gate attendant or parking at Downtown Disney and taking a couple of hops for transportation). For me, parking at the parks is worth it.

I understand that annual pass holders get free parking. We'll find out later this year (woot!).

Another vote for Tropical Palms. We stayed there in 2005, first RV trip my bride and I ever took together. Very nice park, very clean, nice size spots. The area is very nice. Old Town is right near the park, beautiful little walk to neat area. They used to have car shows there all the time too. It was a short drive to Disney, maybe 5 minutes. I don't think they had a shuttle, but I don't remember either.

Even having to pay for parking at Disney, it was still WAY cheaper than Wilderness. I also like to explore the area around Disney too, so it was easier to get out and about from Tropical Palms.

If you don't want to pay the fee to bring and park your vehicle at WDW, or pay for a taxi over, the KOA in Davenport has a free shuttle. Not sure which others in the area have that. We enjoyed it while we were there.